Anniversary at Home

It’s hard to believe that five years have past since I made the largest purchase of my life. It was five years ago today that I closed on a two bedroom, 642 square foot condo. It was, at the same time, the scariest and most exciting day. Page after page of legal jargon kept coming my way to sign. At the end I turned over a very large check and was given the keys to my own house.

I say house because it took some work before it became home. The two biggest offenders were the kitchen and bath. The previous owners had attempted a country theme in the kitchen. This consisted of foam "beams" adhered to the ceiling, plaid wallpaper, and two-tone kitchen cabinets. As you might guess the beams came down, the wallpaper was removed, and the kitchen cabinets took on a single paint color. Other changes included a new faucet, molding, an additional cabinet over the sink, new light fixture, new fridge, and fresh paint.

The bathroom is on the small size and the brown vanity and combo medicine cabinet/light fixture did nothing to help it feel spacious. Out came the vanity and in it’s place a pedestal sink was installed. Down came the dated mirror/light fixture. It was replaced with a simple oval mirror and light fixture with frosted glass shades. A coat of paint to finish and it suddenly felt like a huge, new space. (The painting was a bit tricky. For some reason the paint was resisting sticking to the wall no matter how thin a coat was applied. In the end, I triumphed.)

Of course, more has changed in these last five years. The items littering the kitchen counters have found homes, curtains have been made and hung, and the blue bathtub has disappeared. The other rooms have been decorated and in some cases have been re-decorated. And I have loved every minute of making this house a home.